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Accused in Odisha BJP leader murder found dead under mysterious circumstances
Odisha law minister and senior BJD minister Pratap Jena is among those who have been accused in the case.
A little more than a month after the sensational murder of a BJP leader and his associate in Odisha's Cuttack district by BJD goons, the prime accused of the case, absconding for over months, was found dead under suspicious circumstances.
The body of Prafulla Biswal, the prime accused in the case, was found near Nua Bandal Chhak in Tangi area of Cuttack on Friday night. Police claimed that Biswal, absconding for over a month, died in an accident.
“The accident occurred near Nua Bandal Chhak between 9.30 pm and 10 pm last night. We recovered the body and shifted it to SCB Medical College and Hospital in an ambulance. The deceased’s motorcycle, a bag containing a helmet, clothes and insurance papers of the bike were also recovered from the spot,” said Tangi police station inspector-in-charge Padarbinda Tripathy.
Biswal was among the 13 accused in the murder case of Kulamani Baral, 75, BJP in-charge of Salepur mandal and his 80-year-old associate Dibyasingh Baral. Kulamani, who was also former chairman of Mahanga panchayat Samiti in Cuttack district, was hacked to death along with his 80-year-old associate Dibyasingh Baral near Jankoti village on the evening of January 2 this year while coming home on a motorcycle.
The duo received grievous injuries on their face and chest. While Kulamani succumbed to death on the spot, Dibyasingh died while undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on January 3 morning.
Odisha law minister and senior BJD minister Pratap Jena is among those who have been accused in the case though he has denied his role. Police have so far arrested 8 people including Bhikari Swain, a local BJD leader and former block chairman of Mahanga in Cuttack district over their alleged involvement in the case.
However, BJP claimed that Prafulla was murdered apprehending that he would reveal the involvement of ruling BJD in the murder of former Mahanga block chairman and BJP leader Kulamani Baral along with his associate Dibyasingha Baral.
“We have been saying since the beginning that Mahanga double murder case is a political conspiracy which is evident from the death of the accused. Biswal's body was found near Dushasan Jena transport office owned by the minister. The office belongs to Mahanga MLA who was named in the FIR filed in the case. He was kept hidden by the ruling party. As he would have revealed the entire conspiracy, he was eliminated in a well-planned manner,” alleged BJP district president of Cuttack Prakash Behera. He also questioned as to why all other accused involved in the case were nabbed, but the police had failed to arrest the main accused.
